Arthiabound
by Misbegotten Misfit
Summary: its been 100 years since the events of Homestuck and the humans and trolls had created a new world that has prospered. Karkat and John live together and somewhere along the line all the dead trolls came back. All is good on Arthia until a strange message arrives and gets everybody rattled. The god tiers think somebody is playing the forbidden game, but what's really happening?
1. Chapter 1

**So i decided to write a Homestuck story. Somewhow all the dead trolls came back and everybody became God Tier in the last hundred years. I'll probably explain that later... There's gonna be JohnxKarkat, maybe some KarkatxDirk later, and possibly other pairings as well. The name of the planet's Arthia and its a combination of the two original's planet's names. E_arth_ + Altern_ia_ = _Arthia_**

* * *

The green and blue sunlight filtered between the panels on the hexagonal windows and cascaded in stripes on a boy sleeping in a sphere chair and curled up in three layers of blankets. Slowly he blinked his eyes open and the lights came on in response to his waking. He stretched slightly, mindful of the small space he was in, and cast his blankets aside. He stood up and quickly regretted his decision to dismiss his covers, picking one of them up and wrapping it around his shoulders. Karkat sighed, _Why the fuck does John always keep it so fucking cold in here?_

He shook his head, John always kept the air conditioning on full blast, even if he were away. It had been a hundred years since the events of the game that had brought them together in the first place and at this point both Earth and Alternia had long since been destroyed. It hadn't all been a bust though. Together the trolls and the humans created and settled a new world, which they named Arthia, a combination of the names of their two original planets. It had been billions of sweeps for the trolls and humans that inhabited the planet before the group showed up and had become a rich and prosperous society, and though it had been eons the citizens recognized the God Tiers and greeted them with respect and admiration.

Karkat smiled slightly at the memory as he exited his room and made his way to the kitchen. The lights shut off automatically as he left and turned on when he entered each room. He could set it to manual, but it was easier to leave it on auto. A note was stuck to the Meal Vault in the kitchen. He made his way over to it and plucked it from the metal door, the tape holding it there making a suction cup noise as it was peeled off. It was a simple message and it read, "Karkat, I didn't want to wake you but I had to leave on an emergency trip. Something's going down in a galaxy not far from here and it's supposed to be big. Hope you're not too upset with me and I'll see you when I get back. – John."

He had already known what the note would say. Karkat was use to this by now. Ordinarily John was here, but every so often, it felt like more often now than before, he went away of word from Rose about some far off danger, and when he left he didn't return for ages.

A sound shook him from his thoughts. The hexagonal panel on the wall emitted a soft blue glow and had just beeped to signal an incoming call.

"Who is it, Liv?" Karkat asked the house's artificially intelligent computer system that John had named after his famous Earth movie star crush.

The house answered in the voice of the actress, but monotone, _"Incoming call from Vriska Serket."_

Karkat groaned at the name, _what does she want?_

"Put her through."

A holographic screen appeared on the wall, projected by a holoprojector in the ceiling, and displayed Vriska, lounging in a "Mainframe linear Chair". She was wearing a huge smile and giggled slightly at his disheveled appearance, which he only had because he literally just woke up.

Karkat scrunched up his nose, "What do you want, Vriska?"

"I was calling to talk to John."

"He's not fucking here. There. Problem solved. Goodbye."

This threw Vriska off slightly and she shouted, "What?! What!"

"No reason to. John's not fucking here. I don't fucking like you. So, see ya."

Vriska concentrated her power on him and Karkat stopped in his tracks. She had him turn back towards the screen so they were looking at one another. He glared at her for using her power to control him, but she shrugged it off and said, "I wouldn't have to if you weren't so damn stubborn. Seriously, Karkat, you get so pissy when John's away."

Karkat felt her control over him ease, enough for him to talk freely and move slightly, but not enough for him to leave. He spat, "So what? It's none of your fucking business anyway."

She rolled her eyes, "I don't like seeing you hurt like this. What kind of friend would I be if I wasn't concerned about your well-being when your boyfriend's away?"

Karkat laughed cruelly, "LIKE FUCK YOU DON'T! What's your game, Vriska?"

It took him a moment to register the last part of her sentence, but when he did he immediately stopped laughing and glowered at the blueblood, "He's not my fucking boyfriend! I would never think of a human that way!"

Now it was Vriska's turn to laugh, which only made the mutant blooded troll angrier. She rolled her eyes and said, "Pfft! Yeah, right! It's so obvious you two are all over each other! Just admit it!"

"Was there a fucking point to this conversation or did you just call to joke about my fucking love life?"

Vriska's smile fell, "Jegus, fine! There's a meeting at the town square today and I got stuck with the boring-ass duty of calling you and telling you that you have to come. I was going to just tell John and have him tell you!"

"And what if I don't go?"

Vriska rolled her eyes again. He felt his arm moving but didn't realize it until he smacked himself and exclaimed, "WHAT THE HELL?!"

"Stop being so stubborn! I swear you do this just to spite me!"

"FUCK YOU."

She cut the transmission at that. Vriska was in no mood to deal with Karkat today, for some reason. Much to his relief, Karkat regained the ability to move his own body when she hung up. He looked around the room, noting how empty it felt, and a pang of sadness fell over him. It was true he told Vriska he'd never have red feelings for a human, _but what about a god?_

_The humans aren't really humans anymore… They've reached God Tier, so they're gods now._ He reasoned with himself. He'd been presenting thought after thought like this to himself for a while now, and he knew he was trying to make sense of his feelings. Karkat would never tell anybody about this though, since he prided himself on being a romantic expert. Over the course of their adventure, and the time they spent together afterwards, his feelings for the happy-go-lucky human boy drifted towards the red quadrant. Despite this he couldn't bring himself to tell John about it and risk being rejected. The boy had said it before that "he's not a homosexual", and Karkat was still not sure why that was even a thing or what significance it held, but he was fairly certain it meant, "Not into you."

Jegus, This was so frustrating! Karkat was starting to think he should renounce his self-proclaimed title of "Romance Expert." He headed back to his room to see who's online. He forgot why he came downstairs anyway.

He sat at his desk and pressed the power button on the tower. It whirred to life with a smooth purr and the monitor displayed the start-up sequence. It had been a while since he'd logged on to Trollian. Since all his friends lived in the same city he could just go to their house if he wanted to talk to them, but right now he didn't feel like being around people. He just wanted to chat. His desktop display came up and he opened Trollian, not really expecting anybody to be on. It was a shock to see several of his friends online, including Kanaya; Jade; Rose; and Meenah. He clicked Kanaya and started a conversation with her. Hopefully she'd be able to help.

carcinoGeneticist [CG] began trolling grimAuxiliatrix [GA]

CG: HEY KANAYA.

GA: Karkat I Did Not Expect To See You Online Today

CG: TO BE HONEST, I DIDN'T EXPECT TO BE HERE MYSELF.

GA: Then Why Are You Here

CG: LONG STORY. CAN YOU HELP ME WITH SOMETHING?

GA: What Is It

CG: I NEED SOME

CG: …..

CG: ADVICE.

GA: Of What Variety

CG: IT'S ABOUT JOHN.

GA: Ah Is He Away Again

CG: YEAH.

GA: I'm Very Sorry

GA: Do You Wish to Talk About His Absence

CG: NO, NOT REALLY.

CG: I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT MY RELATIONSHIP.

CG: WITH JOHN.

CG: AND IF I SHOULD TELL HIM THAT.

CG: I LIKE HIM IN A RED WAY.

GA: Hmm

GA: I Do Think it would Be Best If He Knew

CG: I KNOW. I JUST DON'T WANT HIM TO REJECT ME.

CG: OR WORSE, HATE ME.

GA: I'm Sure He Won't Hate You

GA: John Is A Sweet Kid

GA: He'd Still Want To Be Friends

CG: THAT'S ANOTHER THING, KANAYA.

CG: I DON'T THINK I'M HAPPY BEING "JUST FRIENDS."

GA: You'll Always Just Be Friends If You Don't Say Anything

CG: JEGUS, I KNOW.

CG: I'M JUST NOT SURE HOW TO APPROACH HIM ABOUT IT.

CG: I GUESS IT'S NOT REALLY IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW.

CG: SINCE HE'S NOT HERE.

CG: I JUST REALIZED HOW STUPID THIS SOUNDS!

GA: You Don't Sound Stupid, Karkat

GA: It's Normal To Be Confused About Your Feelings

CG: NOT FOR ME. I'M USUALLY THE EXPERT AT THIS KIND OF THING!

CG: PEOPLE ALWAYS ASK ME FOR RELATIONSHIP ADVICE!

CG: HOW AM I SUPPOSE TO HELP THEM WHEN I CAN'T EVEN FIGURE OUT MY OWN FEELNGS?

GA: Your Nervous About Telling John How You Feel

GA: It Seems As Though You're Scared Of More Than Just Rejection

GA: Could It Be That You're Afraid You'll Mess Up Like You Did With Terezi

CG: GOG, YOU SOUND LIKE ROSE.

CG: HAS SHE BEEN TEACHING YOU THAT FUCKING HUMAN THERAPY SHIT AGAIN?

GA: Yes

GA: She Said People Will React The Way You Did When You've Hit The Right Point

GA: Is That What's Bothering You

CG: I DON'T KNOW.

CG: I GUESS SO.

CG: THINGS WEREN'T THE SAME WITH TEREZI AFTER THAT.

CG: I DON'T WANT TO FUCK UP WITH JOHN AND HAVE HIM BE PISSED AT ME FOR SWEEPS.

GA: I Don't Think You'll Have To Worry About That

GA: You've Learned From Your Mistakes

CG: HAVE I REALLY?

CG: IT SEEMS LIKE I'M THE SAME PERSON I ALWAYS WAS.

GA: You May Not Be Able To Tell But You've Changed Considerable Since Our Journey Began

GA: You Should Tell Him

GA: In My Opinion I Think He Feels The Same

CG: I THINK I'LL TELL HIM WHEN HE GETS BACK.

CG: YOU'RE PRETTY GOOD AT THIS, KANAYA.

CG: MAYBE SOMEDAY YOU'LL REACH THE SAME LEVEL OF ROMANTIC GENIUS I'M AT.

GA: I Can Only Hope

CG: LET'S STOP TALKING ABOUT THIS.

CG: WHAT'S WITH THIS FUCKING TOWN MEETING TODAY?

GA: I'm Not Sure

CG: VRISKA SAID THERE WAS SOME IMPORTANT MEETING AT THE TOWN SQUARE TODAY.

GA: I Was Informed Of This By Rose

GA: Unfortunately She Couldn't Tell Me Any Details

GA: Do You Plan To Attend

CG: MAYBE.

CG: I DON'T KNOW.

CG: I WASN'T GOING TO BUT I THINK I MIGHT NOW.

GA: If You're Going to Attend You Might Want To Get Ready

GA: It's In A Half Hour

CG: FUCK, REALLY?

GA: Yes

GA: Did Vriska Not Mention That

CG: DAMN.

CG: NO SHE DIDN'T.

CG: I GOT TO GO, KANAYA.

CG: SEE YA.

GA: Goodbye

carcinoGeneticist [CG] ceased trolling grimAuxiliatrix [GA]


	2. Chapter 2

**I really need to work on updating faster... Here's the next chapter. I'm still trying to set up the plot...**

* * *

Karkat hopped up from his computer in a hurry, not even bothering to close Trollian, and threw his blanket to the floor. He quickly grabbed some clothes from him closet, not caring what he pulled out considering all his clothes were the same. In total something that usually took him 45 minutes only took him 10 minutes this time. In that time frame he managed to shower, get dressed, brush his teeth, run out the door, and nearly trip dashing down the front stairs. Even that impressive feat was not enough to get him to the bus on time though and he was stuck sprinting to the town square in the middle of the city.

When he got there the whole town had already arrived, in fact they'd been there for about 15 whole minutes already. At first Karkat thought he was late so he ran a frustrated hand through his hair and checked his watch. His eyes widened when he saw the time; he was still a few minutes early! What was with the crowd?

The mayor of the city came out of the town hall and got up on the stage. He tapped the mic, causing a harsh noise to emit from the speakers. With his other hand the man tugged at one of his horns nervously. He looked out over the crowd and began speaking into the mic, "Um... I'm very glad to see all of you gathered here today! Hehe... Unfortunately..." he stopped and tugged at his collar, "Unfortunately this meeting was only suppose to be held between the city council and the God Tiers... I'm afraid I'll have to ask you all to... return to your homes... And... uh... await further news."

The citizens were all either confused or upset by this. They started shouting questions at the poor mayor and murmured amongst each other about what could be happening. The God Tiers were revered by the people of Arthia, even by the city officials. Everybody knew what they'd all been through and tried their best to just let them be. They were celebrated and everybody loved them, but it was universally understood that they'd put in a lot of work. The peopled didn't bother them to help with their affairs unless it was of grave importance.

Karkat knew this as well. Since they arrived they'd just been "taking it easy" and living their lives. It was nice, but he knew all too well that nice things never last. Something was obviously going on now and he wondered what it was.

The mayor sighed and continued, "Please, everyone. Calm down. I'd like to ask that all the God Tiers join me in the conference room in Town Hall."

After finishing he stepped off the stage and headed back inside. The crowd stirred as the 32 God Tiers, well 31 because John wasn't there, made their way to the large building, Karkat included. They walked up the stairs and through the automatic doors, which made whoosh sound as they opened and closed. Dirk walked next to him as the group made its way down the hall. Only a couple of them were actually wearing their god rags. Dirk turned to to look at Karkat with his stupid anime shades and whispered, "Do you know what's happenin' here, bro?"

Karkat snorted, "No. Why the fuck would I know?"

Dirk shrugged and continued their conversation, "Hey man, no need to bite my head off. Where's your boyfriend?"

Karkat glared at him and growled, "John's NOT my fucking boyfriend! Why the fuck don't you fucking go bother yours?"

He pointed a finger at Jake, who was ahead of them a little ways boring Jane to death probably talking about movies. Dirk's expression morphed into one of disdain and a slight tone of anger entered his voice, "No way, dude. I'm done with Jake. After a hundred years of dating off and on and dealing with his bullshit I've had enough. English is out of my life for good."

Karkat crossed his arms and huffed, "Great for you, Fuckass."

"Why are you always in such a pissy mood? I'm just trying to talk to you, dude."

Karkat thought for a moment. _Am I really that bad? _He wondered. _Maybe it wouldn't hurt to try to have a conversation..._

He sighed, defeated, and answered the question, "I hate it when John's gone, ok? It really bothers me but I don't want to tell him that. He likes to go off on missions and be an adventurer and I don't want to ruin that for him."

Dirk looked sympathetic, and Karkat noticed that. Even though they were related, Dirk and Dave were really different. Karkat had befriend Dave on a three year journey to Dirk's session, and hadn't really thought about either of them that much. They were both cool kids, and that was the most he put into it.

Dirk shrugged and said, "That's cool, bro. I get that."

Karkat looked at him, somberly, wearing a stoic expression, "Really? I find that hard to believe."

"Its true though. When me and Jake were dating sometimes he'd be gone for days or weeks and not say a word. It was frustrating as all hell."

"That's how it is with John. He just leaves me a note on our meal vault saying he left then I don't hear from him for eons, but when he gets back its like he never left."

Dirk laced his fingers behind his head and laughed a little, "God, we sure know to pick 'em!"

Karkat laughed too, "Tell me about it!"

By then everybody had reached the conference room. Karkat and Dirk filtered in last and took a seat in the large room. The tall hexagonal windows went from floor to ceiling and were placed all along the outside wall. Every one of them was dimmed to black so no light could come in and more importantly, nobody could see inside. The room was well lit and had a pattern of blue neon strips in the metal wall panels, like pretty much every building on Arthia. The room was eerily quiet as the 31 God Tiers and the five City Council Members waited for everybody to find their seats.

After everybody was situated the mayor cleared his throat to get their attention. All eyes turned to him. Meenah spoke before he could get a word out, "What's the deal calling us here?"

The mayor, usually a confident man, was nervous and shaking he sighed, "Yes... I was going to get to that. Erm... I've called you all here because there has been some distressing... eh... developments."

Rose chimed in, "What kind of distressing developments?"

Another council member spoke up, this time a human woman, "We've recently received a strange message from an unknown source."

She clicked a button on the remote she was holding and the holographic screen on the wall appeared. No picture came through, but a frantic voice could be heard through the static, "Hello? Is anybody there? I-I need help! - English-Its happening again! He's - and her- If anybody finds this you have to - something to stop them! - AHH! NO! PLEASE!-"

The teens stared in disbelieve, not too sure what they just heard. The woman council member pursed her lips, her voice portraying no emotions, "As you can see we can't decipher the message due to all the interference, but due to it nature we've determined that something horrible is happening, something that has happened before."

The mayor was fidgeting with his tie, "Um.. yes! We believe it may have something to do with... The Forbidden Game..."

Aradia spoke up for the first time since entering the room, "The game? It can't be... we erased all records of it! Nobody even knows it exists!"

Vriska looked at Aradia and said, "Well, it looks like somebody found the records we erased. All our hard work, for nothing!"

Kanaya tried to calm them down, "Calm down, Vriska, Aradia. We don't even know for sure if that's what's happening!"

Rose nodded and looked at the girls, "Kanaya is right. The message didn't say any specific details. It could mean anything."

A third council member spoke, a male with a deep voice, "You have an excellent point, Rose. We shouldn't be jumping to conclusions."

He stared pointedly at the female with the remote as he said the last sentence. She shot a poisonous glare at him and said, "Even so, you should be on your guard and keep an eye out for anything. All of you know better than we do what to look for."

Rose nodded, "Of course."

The meeting ended with everybody frazzled. They all left the building with different opinions of the situation. Dirk casually strolled along next to Karkat as they spoke about the meeting.

Dirk asked, "So what did you think of that? Seemed pretty serious."

Karkat snorted, "It seemed like a load of hoofbeast manure. They just need something so they don't get bored."

"Wow. So your not worried about it?"

"No fuck way!"

Dirk shrugged, "Whatever, bro. Hey, if you want to come over later, you know, talk about shit, your welcome to."

Karkat looked at him, his anger dissipating for a moment, and nodded. They reached the edge of the Town squared and Dirk had to go the opposite way. He said a simple "Later, Bro." before turning and leaving, waving over his shoulder.

Karkat waved back halfheartedly and walked in the direction of his house. He reached his front door and pulled out his key. The doors lock automatically. He fumbled in his jean's pocket for a few minutes before retrieving his key. He was about to put it in the locket when he froze. There was a cold breath on his neck and he felt somebody standing behind him. The person spoke, barely a whisper. His voice sounded smooth, but dark, "Be ever vigilant. They're coming."

Breathing hard, mostly out of fear, Karkat whipped around, but nobody was there.


End file.
